Despite a 13-2-4 record (W-L-D) the Memphis Tigers women’s soccer team will not be going to the NCAA Tournament. By falling in double overtime to East Carolina in yesterday’s AAC Tournament Final, the Tigers failed to earn an automatic berth, leaving open the possibility that they could miss the Tournament altogether for the first time since 2017. And that possibility became an unfortunate reality today when the bracket was announced the Tigers weren’t in it.
This snub is made all the more frustrating because the Tigers had been ranked as a top-25 team the entire season. Furthermore, they made an effort to build a quality non-conference schedule that included a slew of power conference teams. The Tigers went on the road to Missouri and won 2-0. They followed that up with a 2-1 win on the road in Oxford against Ole Miss. After that was a pair of home wins against Big XII teams, 4-2 over Iowa State and 2-0 over Kansas State. And then they suffered their first, and until yesterday only, loss of the season on the road in Knoxville against Tennessee (who made the NCAA Tournament field despite a record of just 9-6-4.)
Two things then combined to hurt the Tigers chances of making the NCAA Tournament as a possible at-large team. First, they had to cancel a surefire home win against UT-Martin (Memphis won last year’s meeting 4-0) because of adverse weather conditions. And while UT-Martin may not represent much in the way of big-name college soccer, missing out on an opportunity to put another win on the record certainly didn’t help.
But more important than a missed game against UT-Martin was the two home games in conference play where the Tigers dropped results and had to settle for draws rather than wins. The first of the two was a Sunday afternoon game against East Carolina, in which the Tigers held the lead for most of the game before conceding an equalizer with 15 minutes left to play. It was this result that prompted Brooks Monaghan to say that draws are like losses for this team. The second of the two disappointing home draws was against Tulsa in the regular season finale. Again, the Tigers had a late lead that slipped away, this time with less than seven minutes remaining in the game. Despite the draw, Memphis won the AAC regular season title and locked up the number one seed going into the AAC Tournament. They won their first two games against Tulsa and Rice respectively, before losing the rematch with East Carolina.
This snub, however, should not come as a huge surprise to Memphis fans. Just last year, the NCAA made it clear what they thought of the Memphis Tigers program. In 2023, Memphis amassed a record of 18-1-0. Like this year, they had a quality non-conference schedule with wins over Ole Miss, an Ohio State team that featured current USWNT forward Emma Sears, Iowa State, and Kansas State. They won the AAC West Division title, the AAC regular season title, and the AAC Tournament. Their only loss was on the road against #7 Alabama (who had gone to the College Cup semi-finals the year before). What did the NCAA do with that Memphis team? They decided they were a six-seed.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this snub for the Tigers is the momentum the program had coming into this season. They had gone to six straight NCAA Tournaments, and seven of the last eight. They had won three straight AAC Tournament titles. They had advanced in three straight NCAA Tournaments and been to the Sweet Sixteen at each of the last two. In that time, they compiled a record of 112-34-17 (W-L-D). Because of that high level of success, the University announced that the program would be getting brand new locker rooms and a renovated stadium, in honor of the late Liza Fletcher. And despite having an impressive record this year, the Tigers will be watching the NCAA Tournament from home.
There is still some Tigers soccer to be played at South Campus this year. The Memphis Tigers men’s team plays host to the semi-finals and final of the AAC Tournament as the number one seed. Coach Richard Mulrooney’s team may have gotten off to a rough start but were able to get it turned around enough to win the AAC regular season title. However, because of the tough start to the season, they must win the AAC Tournament to make it to a record third-straight NCAA Tournament. That gets started when they play FIU on Wednesday night. Kickoff against the Panthers at the Billy Murphy Track & Soccer Stadium is set for 7pm.